


To Hear Again

by holmesfreak1412



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, F/F, Introspection, SMENT!Jisoo, actress!Jisoo, soloist!Jennie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:15:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25508830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holmesfreak1412/pseuds/holmesfreak1412
Summary: In which soloist Jennie struggles to find her voice until the beautiful and kind and smart and funny actress Kim Jisoo comes along to make her hear again.
Relationships: Jennie Kim/Kim Jisoo
Comments: 12
Kudos: 162





	To Hear Again

**Author's Note:**

> I cannot believe I am writing for the KPOP fandom again but here I am. 
> 
> I must admit that I spent the better part of this month reading JENSOO fanfics so I ended up writing this to contribute to the ship in some way. It helps that JENSOO breathes for like, every week. That certainly lifts writer's block. 
> 
> Anyway, this fic takes into an AU where Jisoo debuted as an actress from SMENT instead of an idol. I always wanted to experiment on that trope after reading the social media au Princess in Twitter. So yeah, it has been done before but I still want to do it anyway because Jennie and Jisoo deserves the world (and each other).

The first time they meet, it is in a recording studio during that part of her life that Jennie is not feeling herself. Kim Jisoo is the lead actress in the drama she is singing a soundtrack for—a beautiful, petite girl whose eyes sparkle as she watches from behind the two-way glass.

She winks and smiles when Jennie catches her gaze and it almost causes Jennie to falter and stumble mid-song, the lyrics the producer gave her suddenly nothing more than a cloud of meaningless words. She has heard of Kim Jisoo before. While her popularity as an actress is by no means unprecedented, tales of how beautiful and kind and smart and funny this woman have more than once cemented her reputation. Jennie has only ever seen her in passing but the stories of their mutual acquaintances had been enough to assure her that this woman is definitely beautiful and kind and smart and funny. Seeing her heart-shaped lips widen into a bright smile only proves all these as pure truth to Jennie.

For the rest of the session, Jennie suddenly feels more like herself that she had in the past year. The whispers ( _crazy, untalented, whore_ ) is now merely a muffled backdrop at the strums of guitar in her headset. All throughout the three songs she records that day, she finds her own gaze returning to the girl behind the glass who cocks her ears in concentration and smiles at her like they have known each other their entire lives. For the first time in a long time, Jennie hears the music clearly and she feels like the voice when she sings is coming from her heart again.

Reality only washes over her once Teddy calls it off and commends her for a job well done but the lightness does not completely disappear because Kim Jisoo immediately approaches her and throws her arms around her. It is the type of hug that one gives to a lifelong friend, not to a stranger who was chosen to sing the songs for your next project. But it feels so right that Jennie allows herself to breathe in Jisoo’s natural flowery scent, unmarred by the lack of perfume.

“You were amazing!” Korea’s Top Actress openly gushes, clutching Jennie’s hands when they pull apart. “I knew you are good. but seeing you in action is just different. All that I heard from Spotify does not give you justice.”

“Oh.” And Jennie feels her face break into a slight smile. “I watched some of your dramas too. You are a sight to watch.”

Jisoo’s hearty laugh resounds in the cramped room full of staff and recording equipment and it is then that Jennie know that the other woman is being sincere—that her words are genuine and not the well-veiled insults and empty compliments that she got used to hearing in the past year. Jennie finds herself smiling wider.

Because after an entire year of nothing but hate and judgment from people who do not know her, it feels good to be complimented by such a beautiful and talented woman whose good reputation precedes her. She still receives praises from fans of course but lately, it has been drowned by those that call her _ugly, untalented, lazy, a whore, a bitch, a clout-chaser and a hypocrite who does not even write her own songs._

For a single moment, Jennie almost lets Jisoo in to the painful truth—that all she had been doing until now was just going through the motions and that it was not until today that she started to hear music again, when heart-shaped lips beamed at her from across the glass. Once upon a time, she had enjoyed performing like no other. Once upon a time, lyrics wrote itself as she hummed a tune. Once upon a time, she was called beautiful, talented, pure and sweet until people inevitably knock down what they built up so that nothing but toppled bricks remain.

She wonders if Jisoo would meet the same fate. If this seemingly beautiful and kind and smart and funny girl would later be called names that are a world away from all these. Because no matter how hard one tries, lies would still be spread and words would still be twisted until you are perceived into something you are not.

But as she listens to Jisoo start talking about how her performance today helps her get into character and that they should spend more time together, Jennie cannot help but think of all the stories she has heard about this girl. She decides that she is probably fine. That this girl is probably the exception to the rule because she smiles like she is someone that everyone loves and always will.

So instead, Jennie gives Jisoo her number so that “they can hang out soon” and as she stares at the retreating back of the girl everyone adores, all Jennie can only think of that it feels _really_ good to hear music again and that Kim Jisoo is probably the most enchanting person she ever met.

…

…

It only takes them three days and a trip to the sauna before they are spending most of their time together.

Both of their schedules are at its most hectic, particularly since Jisoo has started shooting her scenes and Jennie herself is being groomed for her “biggest comeback”, all the while crossing international borders during a world tour. But even when they could not be together in the flesh, they make time to at least talk once a day.

It is a fast friendship and Jennie loves every minute of it. Because those days that she gets to be with Jisoo, she finds herself laughing with the other girl and singing silly songs and cooking her kimchi fried rice. On days that she is halfway across the world, she recalls a joke that Jisoo has once blurted out and it does not even have to be funny for it to leave a smile on Jennie’s face as she drifts to sleep.

These are the moments where Jennie understands why even the most hateful of people finds it hard to dislike Kim Jisoo. She does not think she ever hit off so well with anyone since Rose and Lisa, who she has been training with since before they all debuted into solo artists. In another world, had Jisoo signed with YG instead of SM, Jennie thinks the four of them would have made a good girl group.

Jisoo and Jennie are total opposites but instead of inciting conflict, it almost feels like Jennie has found her other half because they complement each other in every way possible. Jennie attempts to teach her how to play the guitar whilst Jisoo helps her get in touch with her inner “variety show charm” she keeps on being told that she severely lacks as a soloist. Both eventually end up being failures because Jisoo thinks everything that deals with musical instruments is “too hard” and more often than not, Jennie’s savage repartees get in the way of aegyo.

“My sense of humor will rub off to you one day.” Jisoo tells her, as they eat through dumplings and fried rice, sitting cross-legged with Stranger Things playing in the background. “I promise.”

“I’ll teach you piano next time.” Jisoo does not even wince and only throws her head back in laughter. Not for the first time during the day, Jennie finds herself chuckling with her.

“It’s a deal then.”

They sit with each other in silence, munching on the lunch that Jennie painstakingly prepared after reading somewhere that Jisoo’s favorite food are dumplings. Soon, Netflix gets replaced by Youtube and random songs play until it starts shuffling through the tracks of Jennie’s debut album.

Jisoo raises a perfectly-shaped eyebrow at Jennie’s insistence to flip it to someone else’s song. “Hey. Don’t tell me you’re embarrassed.” Jisoo sounds surprised. “It’s not like I haven’t listened to this before.”

She shrugs, giving up on reaching for the remote that Jisoo relentlessly keeps from her hands. “I know but it is always weird to hear songs from my debut album. Especially now.

Especially now—she does not say. Especially now that it is the only album out of her three full ones that contains the songs she actually wrote and not the quick cash grabs her company produces because all the bad things that people are saying about her have become unbearably louder than the music in her heart.

Something must have betrayed her poker face though because Jisoo suddenly gets up to her feet wordlessly and holds out her hand. “Let’s dance.”

“Jisoo—“ Jennie starts before being pulled to the arms of the actress who starts swaying her to the tune of the third track of her debut album—the one she wrote while being in love with someone her company did not approve of for “the secret weapon” they intended to debut soon. She had not listened to it for so long, had not even performed it in any of her concerts. But she hears it loud and clear as she lets Jisoo twirl her around until they are lying on the couch, out of breath and the heartbroken words of her teenage self does not hurt as much anymore.

Because the grief that she inevitably always felt whenever she listens to her debut album is now replaced with shared, airy laughter as she looks into Jisoo’s eyes. Jennie cannot believe how she had not even known Jisoo for so long and yet could effortlessly make Jennie happier than most people. She does not understand. Perhaps, Jisoo was like that with everyone, seeing how the whole world adores her like she invented garlic bread. The thought sends a pang to Jennie’s chest because she does not want to be just like everyone else to Jisoo.

But when Jisoo lets her cling on her arm and calls her Jendeukie, Jennie knows then that it is something special for both of them.

….

….

Her tight schedule prompts her to spend her holidays overseas with her labelmates. They are in a hotel room, with a huge abundance of luxury but zero touch of personality. But Jennie thinks that despite the lack of green and yellow Christmas lights around or a Christmas tree stuffed with wrapped presents, the fact that she is with her two friends in a room where there are no paparazzi’s and screaming fans is still a blessing. Together, they keep each other grounded. Only people who struggle with the same amount of popularity can really understand all the hardship that comes with it.

They have pushed their three beds together, the previously immaculate, white sheets strewn with junk food they otherwise would not be caught dead with. She sits cross-legged across the two younger girls, listening to them talk about the things she missed while she was on her own world tour and does not miss the glances and the subtle smiles her two friends share over the very little space they still have between them.

She has seen it coming years ago and from the dopey smiles in her friends’ faces, she knows that whatever that was boiling between them has somehow manifested into something more tangible. They will tell her when they are ready, she thinks, watching as the two continue to bicker over the littlest things whilst grinning. The sweet sight of her friends falling deeper in love with each other somehow reminds her of Jisoo and it makes Jennie wonder about how she is spending her holidays back in Korea.

While the two clearly is skirting over what is the score between them, they do not have the same qualms about asking for Jennie’s own lovelife. “I’m still not dating anyone.” She says pointedly, raising an eyebrow as she darts her eyes between the two, to which she hears nervous chuckles as Lisa frantically waves her hands.

“I mean, your new friend. Kim Jisoo. The actress. How is it going with her?”

Jennie’s face flush, kicking herself for reacting this way despite expecting the question. She has told her two friends about Jisoo ( _gushed_ about her really) but she cannot help it. She has not allowed herself to be close with anyone other than Lisa and Chaeyoung and so it is inevitable that this new and exciting, platonic friendship she is beginning to foster with one of Korea’s top actress will be an eventual topic of conversation with her two friends. It is natural.

“She’s great.” is all she manages to say, even when she knows that everything that is Kim Jisoo cannot be summed up by those two words alone. “We just click so well together. I feel like she knows me more than I do myself already.”

“Wow. Didn’t you just meet her like two months ago, unnie?” Chaeyoung remarks curiously, speaking the exact same thought that had already crossed Jennie’s mind a month ago.

“Well,” Lisa pipes in, wrapping one arm around Chaeyoung, causing the other girl’s cheeks to flush red. ”We became bestfriends the moment we met. That is not impossible.”

“No, we didn’t!”

“Yes, we did.”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Giggling, Jennie clears her throat as she shook her head fondly at the lovebirds’ antics. “I really want you to meet her. You would love her. I swear.”

“Everyone loves her.” Cheayoung notes before her face breaks into a dreamy smile. “I mean, have you seen her in _True Beauty_? I love her in there.”

“I know.” And she is aware that she sounds a little too breathless, a little too whipped but she finds that she does not really care. “She is even better than her reputation. She’s just so… special.”

“Are you sure you are not in love with her?” Lisa asks with a grin so wide that it puffs her cheeks and Chaeyoung nods in agreement.

“Lalisa!” Jennie shrieks before throwing a handful of Cheetos to her friend while laughing. And it soon evolves into a messy food fight where they trashed the entire hotel room and will end up probably paying damages come morning but she never would trade this Christmas evening for anything else in the world.

Her friends have since passed out on the soiled bed when she thinks of Lisa’s words and finds that thinking of Jisoo’s bright eyes and heart-shaped lips makes her imagine chords lilting into a melody.

Jennie pulls out the notebook she has not written on in years and starts scribbling.

…

…

Jisoo visits her right when she gets back home. They sit in front of the TV, watching some Japanese anime that Jisoo cannot seem to tear her eyes from. She looks as impeccable as ever, every bit of the pure and sweet girl that the nation has fallen in love when she debuted as an actress around the same time that Jennie released her first song. She has read somewhere that YG has attempted to scout her. Not for the first time, she thinks of what would have happened had SM not gotten her hands on Jisoo first. Jennie would like to think that they would still be friends like this, talking about their hopes and dreams as trainees and supporting each other as idols. The same way as Chaeyoung and Lisa were, until they finally acknowledged how much they love each other.

Jisoo would probably deal with the woes of being an idol in ways that totally eluded Jennie. Nothing ever got to Jisoo and her composure extends to the point where she started to protect Jennie from all the biting comments by simply reminding her that she is worth it. That she is still the same talented and beautiful girl that the world once raved about before being branded as the villain. Because nothing boosts self-esteem better than Kim Jisoo giving her the time of the day.

Kim Jisoo is everything that she ever wanted in a best friend and Jennie could not help but love the woman in the same way as she loves Chaeyoung and Lisa. She loves the way Jisoo gives her the most random nicknames, the way her jokes are sometimes not so funny, the fact that she loves dogs too and the way her lips form a heart when she smiles.

But more than anything, Jennie loves the way she feels around Jisoo, when she can feel like she can finally listen to her first album again and start believing that she can write songs that can make her feel again.

“Can I play you something?” she asks, out of the blue, breaking Jisoo off from her little rant about how much she has always a middle name. _Jisoo Turtle Rabbit Kim._ Kim Jisoo is kind of ridiculous too.

She has not written a single song in the past six years, let alone play it in front of someone whose opinions she values. Mr. Yang either loved and hated the songs she brought before her debut and the fact that there is a chance that Jisoo may hate it makes her hesitate from baring her soul for a single second. But the encouraging smile that Jisoo flashes her makes all second thoughts evaporate so she grabs her guitar and starts to sing.

It is a song she wrote about friendship, because when she was lost and confused and lonely in a world that judged her every move, Lisa and Chaeyoung were there with her. Jisoo was there with her. It was not the subtlest nor the most poetic but it spoke of the gratefulness she felt, of the love she felt.

When she finishes, Jisoo’s eyes are wet and it reminds Jennie of their first meeting, when Jisoo clutched her hands and told her that she felt like she could go deeper inside her character’s head now because Jennie made her _feel_. Except this time, the expressions playing on Jisoo’s face felt tenfold rawer and more powerful.

“Do you like it?” Jennie finally asks, sheepish. She averts her eyes.

She can hear Jisoo’s smile without seeing it. “I love it. You should put in your next album.” She reaches for Jennie’s hand and squeezes it.

“I’m not sure if it fits.” Jennie says, thinking of the tracks Teddy had already presented to her. Unless… and an idea starts to form and does not go away. 

….

Her diary is almost full to the brim of her musings and Jennie never felt more accomplished in her entire life.

She is taking a break right after announcing the postponement of her full album. YG was not happy about it but she has gained enough standing within the company that she can make one selfish demand in her career. The songs prepared for her are now given to girl group debuting this summer. Jennie finds that she does not regret it one bit.

She cannot waste this opportunity. When the muse touches and does not let go, one has to sit down and _write._ She wants to write songs that would sum up all that she felt in the past three years. She wants to write songs for her friends. She wants to write songs for Jisoo. She would like believe that what she is tirelessly working on now is something that her fans, the ones who stuck by her all this time, will eventually treasure.

Between composing lyrics and impromptu trips to her recording studio, Jisoo keeps her from overexerting by video calling with her daily. Her drama was just released, with much raving from the critics and ratings unmatched. Even during her hiatus, the fact that she sang the show’s soundtrack would make Jennie relevant for a while longer.

It is Jisoo who suggests the Amsterdam trip.

She was given a few months to finalize the songs she promised YG and while most of it will likely be spent preparing for its release, a weeklong vacation with her friend is not going to bar her from that. In fact, it might help, seeing that she seems to suddenly write more whenever she is around Jisoo.

“It’ll be fun.” Jisoo assures her excitedly. “I promise.”

Jisoo has never once broken a promise. The girl is just unbelievably perfect. Jennie smiles. “I believe you.”

It is still not the most ideal vacation. They are still given an itinerary by their respective agencies. They are still recognized in the streets and she knows by then that her fans have started shipping them together. But walking around parks, gossiping late at night at hotels or shopping around hand-in-hand makes Jennie feel some peace she has not had in a while. The thought that Jisoo can effortlessly make her feel this way makes her heart flutter. Jennie would not have it any other way.

One day, Jennie finds a small yellow flower in the ground, plucks it and leans over to tuck it on Jisoo’s ear. The actress raises her eyebrow in confusion but she is smirking.

“What?” Jennie grins bashfully. “It looks good on you. I mean, everything looks good on you. You are beautiful, Jisoo. Like sunshine. You would have made a good visual if you were an idol.”

Jisoo’s teasing smirk softens into a fond smile and she leans over to give Jennie a kiss on the cheek. They are standing together in a flower garden, wearing casual clothes that neither of them would be caught with in Instagram and Jennie cannot help but imagine that they are in one of Jisoo’s dramas: in that one scene where the main actors fall in love and kiss for the first time.

But Jisoo does not kiss her on the lips and Jennie feels a little bit of disappointment. It is at the moment that she starts to think that maybe Lisa was right after all.

Jennie is no stranger to love. She is well-versed to the signs, even when she chose to ignore it when it happened with Jisoo in favor of her own excitement to this new friendship. The telltale rush, the escalating heartbeats and the way that she cannot just take her eyes away from her should have warned her to this epiphany. Because now that they are alone surrounded by nothing but flowers, Jennie realizes that Jisoo is beautiful and kind and smart and funny and she loves her.

And this, for some reason, does not scare her. Even when she only has ever looked at boys before. Jennie has always known that there is no gender in love. And she knows that whether Jisoo reciprocates her romantic feelings or not, Jisoo loves her in her own way too and that she would never leave.

“What are you writing?” Jisoo asks when they are sitting together on their last day in Amsterdam, as the last season of Game of Thrones plays in the background while Jennie scrawls into her notebook. “A new song?”

“Yes.” Jennie smiles as she continues writing. “I cannot wait for you to hear it.”

“You’re going to put that in the album?”

Jennie looks at what she has finished so far – the story of two lovers running away from the world that do not approve of them. And it is then that it also dawns on Jennie that perhaps she does not mind the public finding out too, because the world deserves to know about the love that _made her hear again._

“I think so. It means a lot to me.”

_You mean a lot to me._

She returns to Korea feeling like a new woman, with a new bestfriend and a new album on the way and Jennie could not be any happier.

….

…

The anxiety got to Jennie the night before her new album is released. There hadn’t been much promotion or fanfare. It was all a blur. After all the arguments she had with YG about writing her own songs and ditching her producer’s latest bop, she knows that she would be held responsible if this does not sell. Jennie knows they are just humoring her at this point. If she was wrong and they were right, it will just show that she cannot be trusted to make her own decisions and she is really the untalented, ugly flop that the world makes her out to be.

She has nothing to worry about though. The album would prove to be a massive hit even without any promotions, breaking records she previously made and selling out faster than YG can print copies.

The critics are going wild with praises and she is hit with nostalgia when she realizes that it is all just throwback of when she released her first album. It is only a matter of time before the tables are turned again and she is one again branded as the villain of the music industry. But she cannot help but not care. She is proud of what she has done and nothing can take that away from her.

Her fans are freaking out and she trended all over the internet for weeks, every single one of the ten tracks that made it to the final cut getting attention. She finds that it is their happiness that matters the most—not the critics’ raves, not the non-fans’ grudging admission that they kind of like it and not the numerous offers she got for one of her songs to be featured in a new drama. Every single tweet from her fans makes Jennie smile more and more until her mouth hurts.

Jisoo has sent her several congratulatory texts, saying that she has already listened to all of it. Sitting on the couch as Lisa and Chaeyoung celebrated with her, Jennie asks Jisoo what her favorite is from the album.

Her heart skips a beat when she reads Jisoo’s reply. _To Hear Again._

She immediately excuses herself from her two friends and calls Jisoo. It is barely a second before the other girl picks up and starts gushing about how amazing Jennie is. Jennie realizes that above all else, she values Jisoo’s opinion the most.

….

….

Jennie will be performing in the acting awards show that Jisoo is nominated in.

She did not know about the last part until Jisoo tells her one night and Jennie looks at her and grins and jumps to throw herself around the actress, hugging her tightly before spinning her around in circles. She hears Jisoo’s giggling uncontrollably as they turned, Jennie’s heart pounding giddily because even before the show, she knows that both of them already won.

She is a vision of fierceness when she performs the main track of her new album onstage, dancing through the beat on the music she herself created from the whispers in her head. She thinks back to a year ago, when she can barely stand performing what may easily be other people’s songs, when people are calling her lazy and untalented and a flop and how she is now performing on a stage where idols don’t usually perform, surrounded by esteemed artists. How the woman she loves is watching her from the front row while beaming with pride, knowing that if Jisoo did not have to keep appearance as the elegant, ethereal actress that she is, she would have jumped from her seat and screamed her fanchants to the top of her lungs.

The first performance is a hit. Audience in a big award show are normally indifferent to idols performing onstage. But they love it and Jennie loves performing it. And not for the first time in the entire year, she feels at peace. Because she is no longer the same person last year and she has Jisoo, her beautiful and kind and smart and funny Jisoo, to thank for that.

The second performance is her favorite though. Part of it is the song, this being the first time she performs _To Hear Again_ in a live performance. Part of it is the reminder that Jisoo has listened to it more times than she is willing to admit. And most of it is because she sings it right after Jisoo wins the Best Actress Award, where the actress publicly names Jennie as that someone who made her _feel again._ She sings the song to tell Jisoo that the feeling is mutual and in the stadium jam-packed with other celebrities, there is suddenly nobody. Just Jennie and Jisoo, exchanging love confessions they were too dense to say before.

Jisoo comes to her in he dressing room when it is all over and closes the door behind her. She puts down the award on the table and hugs Jennie, praises after praises pouring out of the girl’s mouth. “You were so good!” she says excitedly. Her eyes are sparkling. “I cannot wait until I watch it on video again. Gosh, you look so beautiful!”

Jisoo is still bouncing up and down when Jennie leans in and kisses her. if her friend is surprised, she does a good job not showing it because Jennie is soon tugged closer, Jisoo’s teeth running over her bottom lip. Jisoo always kissed well in her dramas but watching all of them at the start of their friendship did not once prepare Jennie for the real thing. It is so perfect that she forgets that anyone can walk in on them, snap a picture and ruin both of their careers.

But somehow, Jennie knows that does not matter anymore too.

When they pull away, Jisoo puts her forehead on Jennie’s and stays there breathlessly for several seconds before Jennie whispers. “I love you.”

Jisoo leans back after one lingering kiss and drawls. “ _To Hear Again_ is about me right?”

Jennie nods, thinking of how much Jisoo made her feel that she had to write that song. How much she wants Jisoo to make her feel that way so that she can write songs like that for the rest of her life.

Jisoo kisses her again and Jennie hears music as she feels soft lips cover her own. When they part, Jisoo’s eyes reflect that she feels the exact same way.

“I love you too.”

…

**(END)**

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! I will be posting this in AFF and Wattpad as well, as soon as I figure out how.


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